HANCEVILLE, Alabama -- On occasion, J.O. Johnson coach Jack Doss has been known for a slight case of hyperbole when discussing players.

And when he compares freshman John Petty to some of his greats like Buck Johnson and Trevor Lacey, you want to see the proof.

A 20-point, four-rebound, three-steal, regional MVP award is a pretty good exhibit. That's what Petty delivered on Saturday night as the Jaguars pulled away from Butler for the fourth time this season and finished with a 71-57 win and Northwest Regional championship at Wallace State-Hanceville's Tom Drake Coliseum.

"It's why I work hard to get better," said Petty, who had 24 point in a semifinal win against East Lawrence on Thursday. "I want to work hard because all those guys worked hard and were a success on the court."

On this night, the third-ranked Jaguars (24-5) were all successes on the court, at least once they started using their size to pull away from the Rebels (13-12) in the second quarter. Butler led 23-19, but once Damione Freeman, Petty and Lionel Love got going, it was a 37-28 halftime lead that stretched out in the second half.

"We started turning the ball over in the second quarter and to me, they were unforced turnovers," said Butler coach Marcus McCall. "Part of our game plan was that we have to take care of the ball, because good teams will capitalize on that."

Ergo, since Butler's a good team ... you follow the equation. Johnson picked up more points off turnovers and also took advantage at the free-throw line by going 25 for 39.

"You can always do better and we've got our system right," said Love, after finishing with 18 points. "My guess is we're peaking, but we can always do better."

Justin Hopkins added 14 points for the Jaguars, while Freeman had 11 with seven rebounds. Dameion Jones led Butler with 20 points, while Terrion Hobson had 15 and Carl Mastin had 12.